My aunt is super crafty and she taught me how to stencil/paint on fabric a couple of weeks ago. It's a fun and easy way to "create" your own fabric.

SEMI-TUTORIAL (instructions on how to make your own fabric!)

1)You will need an overhead transparency (or a piece of cardboard, but the transparency works better), paint, fabric medium, a round paint brush with short bristles, fabric, exacto knife2)draw the image that you want on a piece of paper and then tape the overhead transparency on top. Using an exacto knife cut out the inside of the image (where you want the paint to go)3)mix the fabric medium and the paint. The fabric medium is what prevents your paint from cracking after it dries. I can't remember what the exact proportion is, but it will tell you on the fabric medium bottle.4)tape your new stencil onto the fabric. Dip your brush into the fabric medium/paint mixture and using an up and down dabbing motion, fill in the area that you'd like to be stencilled.5)After you have finished filling in the areas, gently lift off your stencil.6)Let it dry7)The next day, you can heat set your stencilled area. I laid a piece of fabric on top of the painted area and then put my iron on top of it for about 25 seconds, and then moved onto the next section. Not in a brushing motion, more like a lift and hold motion. VOILA! You have a cool piece of fabric that you can make something out of.

***Stencilling is a great way to paint for people who have no clue how to paint. Seriously, the last time that I attempted to paint something was circa elementary school so if I can do it, anyone can ***

Here is the messenger bag that I made out of my birdie stencil:

It's made from a black duck material and I lined it in baby blue so that it'd match the little birdie!

ksew: Because it's been heat set, it's definitely ok to get wet (aka running home through a rain storm!) not sure about the wash though. I've never put any purse (made or purchased) in the washing machine because I'm assuming that it might not have a good outcome

Mienna: Thanks! I cut out the flap of the bag first and then stencilled the design on. You don't have to cut it out beforehand, but I wanted to have a better idea of where the final painting would end up. The best part of stencililng is that you don't need a steady hand...I was surprised how easy it was!